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Isaiah Hamblin (1790-1856)
}} Biography War of 1812 Isaiah was a soldier in the war of 1812. He served under General Dearborn. He was wounded at Plattsburg, New York. When his wife heard the guns of battle she put her baby, some bandages and medicine into a boat and rowed twenty miles to the scene of action just in time to see the British flag go down. Isaiah's hearing was damaged by being so close to the cannons. Their first baby, Melissa, was born 2 Feb 1814, North Hero, Vermont. Their second daughter, Emily, was born in North Hero on 31 Aug 1816. St Lawrence Work Camp They lived in North Hero for awhile, but after that Isaiah worked in lumbering on the St. Lawrence river in northern New York. He employed Canadian workmen. They lived in lumber camps with crude bunks for sleeping. These were arranged around an open fireplace. The natives often slept with their feet to the fire to keep them warm. The "Kanucks" had a habit of putting pitchwood splinters between the toes of the "Yankees" when they were asleep, then lighting them and burning their feet. They did this just for sport. Some of the men were disabled this way, and so Isaiah determined to put a stop to it. The Kanucks were in the habit of stripping naked to go to bed. Isaiah went to bed and pretended to be asleep. A big Kanuck crept quietly from his bed looking for his next victim. He saw Isaiah asleep with his feet sticking out of his bunk. He whispered to the others,"Lasha! Lasha!" (the boss, the boss). Then he prepared the splinters for the fun. As he stooped to set them on fire Isaiah drew back his feet and kicked the fellow in the chest landing him stark naked on the bed of live coals. This raised an uproar and turned out the entire camp. Isaiah regretted the affair, but there were no more burned feet in the camp. The man was burned rather badly. This wasn't the end of the matter. While taking his raft of lumber down the river the following spring, Isaiah ran aground near a settlement which proved to be the home of the man who was burned at the camp. Isaiah went ashore with his brother-in-law William Haynes and a Mr. Dodge to get supplies. A crowd gathered around the place where they were trading, and as they came out of the store a big fellow grabbed Isaiah and another did the same with Mr. Haynes telling them in a boisterous way that they must wrestle with them. Isaiah told Mr. Dodge to hurry quickly to the raft with their supplies while he and Mr. Haynes stopped to settle with the mob. Some of the crowd, seeing what they were going to do, ran for the raft and reached it before Mr. Dodge did. Isaiah and Mr. Haynes threw down their assailants and ran for the raft. When they reached it Mr. Dodge was knocking Kanucks right and left with a heavy chain and soon had the raft clear. The raft floated and they were again safe on their journey. The Hamblin Family, by Franklin Andrews Isaiah and his family moved to Ohio. First to Salem, Ashtabula county where Isaiah was sheriff for awhile, and then to Geauga county, a wilderness covered with a heavy growth of timber. It took twenty days of hard work to clear one acre of land to be harrowed and planted with wheat. In about three years the stumps would rot and the soil could then be plowed. Isaiah was overseeing some grist mills there. While the family lived in Salem Jacob and Olive were born, Jacob on 2 Apr 1819 and Olive on 7 May 1821. Three other children were born in Munson, Ohio, Adeline on 18 Sep 1823, Obed 25 Oct 1825, and Alsen 28 Apr 1827. According to records Isaiah was the first settler of the town of LaFayette, Wisconsin. In the book "History of Walworth County", the chapter "First Settlers in Town of LaFayette" (page 921-22) it states, "Isaiah Hamblin, first settler in the town, a native of the state of Ohio. He came to LaFayette, Wisconsin in the month of June, 1836, and settled on the southeast quarter of section twenty-five on July 18. The logs for his house being ready, the settlers from neighboring towns turned out to assist him in "raising" the first house in the town of LaFayette." Page 925 states: The first marriage in LaFayette was of Henry Johnson, son of Alpheus Johnson, to Miss Hamblin in 1837. Col. Terez Merreck of Spring Prairie solemnized the marriage. Hamblin genealogy states that Olive Hamblin married Henery Johnson, however, the date family records have is 27 Aug 1838. Jacob Hamblin's Journal In late 1836 Isaiah and his son Jacob moved to Spring Prairie, Wisconsin, to make a new home for the family. They passed through Chicago, Illinois, on the way. It was then a small village. Jacob said about Spring Prairie, "It was the most delightful country I had ever seen. It was beautiful with rolling prairies, groves of timber, numerous springs of pure water, and an occasional lake abounding with fish. My father and I each made a claim on 80 acres of government land which was expected soon to come into the market. I was not yet of age and my father, wishing to return to Ohio for his family, proffered to give me the remainder of my time during the summer if I would take care of the crop already sown." It isn't known just when the family moved to Wisconsin. Possibly the summer of 1837 was spent in Spring Prairie preparing soil and planting crops. They probably moved to Spring Prairie in 1838. A son, Francis Marion, was born in Walmouth County, Wisconsin, 27 Nov 1838. Their youngest son, Frederick, was born in Spring Prairie, 12 Feb. 1841. Daphney was then 43 years old. Frederick was their twelfth child. Their daughter, Olive, had died in 1839 in Ohio. See Also * Isaiah Hamblin * Hamblin in Grand Isle County, Vermont * Hamblin in Washington County, Utah * Hamblin in Barnstable County, Massachusetts